出三藏記集 3.19

3.19

The Sarvāstivāda Daśādhyāya-vinaya (in sixty-one fascicles)

“Sarvāstivāda” means “all exists” in the language of Liang. They assert that all conditioned phenomena have marks of existence. They study both inner and outer scriptures, delight in refuting heterodox teachings, and in the scriptures and treatises they compile they explain that there is no “mine”; because they are able to answer when challenged with objections, they take this as their name. Formerly, Mahākāśyapa fully maintained the Dharma treasury; he transmitted it in turn to Ānanda, down to the fifth master Upagupta. Originally there were eighty recitations. Because later generations would have dull faculties and would be unable to receive it completely, Upagupta abridged it into ten recitations. It is named “recitations” (adhyāya) because the Dharma ought to be recited and maintained. From this point onward, master transmitted it to disciple for more than fifty generations. Reaching the Hongshi era of the Qin, there was a śramaṇa from Kapiśa named Puṇyatāra who recited this Hu text of the ten recitations and came traveling to Guanxi. Dharma Master Kumārajīva, together with three thousand monks at the Xiaoyao Garden in Chang'an, translated it. They had just completed more than two divisions, but before it was finished Puṇyatāra died. Soon after, there was a foreign śramaṇa, Dharmaruci, who arrived in Chang'an in succession. Thereupon Dharma Master Huiyuan of Mount Lu lamented that the Vinaya Piṭaka was not yet complete and longed to bring it to fulfillment. Hearing of his arrival, he sent a letter to Dharmaruci, saying: “The rise of the Buddhist teaching first circulated in the northern states; in the nearly four hundred years since it first branched out and spread here, there are still many deficiencies regarding the moral standards of the śramaṇa. Recently, the Western Regions religious master Puṇyatāra was a vinaya master from Kapiśa who recited the Hu text of the ten recitations. There was Kumārajīva, whose comprehensive talent and broad vision translated it for him. Of the ten recitations, they had only completed two; Puṇyatāra passed away early, and it was abandoned midway, unable to fulfill the great task, which is a cause of profound regret. I have heard that your benevolence brought this text along with you, and I am greatly delighted by this encounter. Is the arrival of mysterious destiny merely a matter of human affairs? I believe that those who propagate the Way for the sake of beings act in response to the times; when someone knocks, you will surely harbor no begrudging feelings. If you can leave this scriptural text for the assembly of vinaya students, opening up and revealing the noble practice to cleanse their ears and eyes, allowing those who are newly embarking on the path not to lose the supreme ford, and making the sun and moon shine ever brighter for those who cherish the superior enterprise, then this benevolence will be deep and its virtue profound, moving humans and spirits alike. I earnestly hope you will deign to consider this and not leave my earnest wish unfulfilled. The details have all been fully related by the monks, so I say no more.” Having received the letter, Dharmaruci then translated the remainder of the vinaya together with Kumārajīva in the Guanzhong region. They finally completed a single whole division, totaling fifty-eight fascicles. Later, there was the vinaya master Vimalākṣa from Kapiśa who came traveling to Chang'an. Kumārajīva had previously studied the vinaya under him while in the Western Regions. Vimalākṣa later went from Qin to Jin, residing at the Shijian Temple in Shouchun. He re-collated the text of the Daśādhyāya-vinaya; its titles and chapters were then corrected, and it was divided into sixty-one fascicles, transmitted down to the present day.

Dharmaguptaka Caturvargika-vinaya (in forty fascicles, or divided into forty-five fascicles)

“Dharmagupta” means “Dharma mirror” in the language of Liang; another pronunciation is Dharmagupta. After the Tathāgata entered nirvāṇa, there were disciples who interpreted meanings invertedly and concealed the Dharma treasury; because it covers the Dharma, it is named Dharmagupta. This is the Caturvargika-vinaya. It was translated by the Tripiṭaka Dharma Master Buddhayaśas of Kapiśa. Initially, Buddhayaśas recited the Caturvargika-vinaya in Kapiśa, and came traveling to Chang'an without bringing a Hu text. Yao Shuang, the Colonel of the Retainers under the Qin, wished to invite Buddhayaśas to observe the rain retreat at Zhongsi Temple and have him translate it. The ruler of Qin, considering that without a Hu text it was difficult to verify its authenticity and that the monks had many disagreements, did not grant permission. Dharma Master Kumārajīva urged him, saying: “Buddhayaśas has remarkable memory skills; I have often heard him recite and practice, and he has never missed or mistaken anything.” Thereupon the ruler of Qin gave him one roll of medicinal prescriptions and one roll of household registers, totaling about forty sheets of paper, and ordered him to memorize them within three days. He then gathered the monks, held the text, and tested him; down to the drams, ounces, number of persons, and ages, he did not err by a single character. Thereupon all were convinced and yielded, and he was finally ordered to translate it. Therefore Dharma Master Sengzhao's Preface to the Dīrgha-āgama says: “In the twelfth year of the Hongshi era of the Qin, the year being shangzhang yanmao, General of the Right and Colonel of the Retainers Yao Shuang gathered five hundred eminent and virtuous śramaṇas at Zhongsi Temple in Chang'an. He invited the Tripiṭaka Master Buddhayaśas of Kapiśa to translate the Vinaya Piṭaka: the Caturvargika in forty fascicles, completed in the fourteenth year. In the fifteenth year, the year being zhaoyang fenruo, he translated the Dīrgha-āgama; the Liangzhou śramaṇa Fonian acted as translator, and the Qin Daoist Daohan served as scribal recorder. Owing to auspicious fortune, I humbly took part in the assembly; though I had no merit of aiding goodness, I took part at the end of personal reception. I briefly record the contemporary events to show them to future worthies.” Furthermore, at the end of his reply letter to the Jiangdong hermit Liu Yimin, he says: “The Dharma Master translates the newly arrived scriptures at Dasi Temple; the Dharma treasury is abyssal and vast, and there are novel teachings heard every day. The Dhyāna Master teaches the practice of dhyāna at Gongsi Temple; his hundreds of disciples are indefatigable day and night, harmonious and dignified, bringing great joy. The Tripiṭaka Dharma Master translates the vinaya at Zhongsi Temple; from beginning to end it is meticulous and exhaustive, as if one were witnessing the first formulation of the rules. The Vibhāṣā master at Shiyang Temple translated the Hu text of the Śāriputrābhidharma, though it is not yet fully rendered; whenever questions are asked about matters therein, his words are extraordinary and novel. In my humble life I have had the fortune to take part in these auspicious gatherings and encounter such flourishing transformation; since I did not witness the assembly at Śākyamuni’s Jetavana, what other regret could I have? My only regret is not being able to share this assembly of the Dharma with gentlemen of superior virtue.” Thus Sengzhao’s letter and preface are cited in brief to present as verification.

Vātsīputrīya-vinaya (in forty fascicles)

“Vātsīputrīya”: they uphold the scriptures and treatises and all assert that there is a self, not speaking of marks of emptiness. Like little children, they are therefore named Vātsīputrīya. Another name for this is the Mahāsāṃghika-vinaya. The postscript to the vinaya says: Formerly, an evil king briefly ruled in Central India. The Tripiṭaka bhikṣus and all the śramaṇas fled far away in all four directions. When the evil king died and a good king was established in his place, he again invited the śramaṇas to return to the kingdom for offerings. At that time, there were five hundred monks in the city of Pāṭaliputra who wished to settle ecclesiastical matters; since there was no vinaya master and they lacked the vinaya text, having no model to rely upon, they immediately dispatched an envoy to Jetavana Vihāra to copy this vinaya text so that the assembly might follow it together. Later, when the five divisions gradually formed, the various vinaya masters held differing interpretations, each considering his own transmission to be correct, and disputes arose in confusion. At that time, King Aśoka said: “How am I now to determine what is right and wrong?” Thereupon he asked the monks: “How are matters settled according to the Buddha's Dharma?” All said: “According to the Dharma, one should follow the majority.” The king said: “If so, we should cast voting sticks to know which assembly is larger.” When the voting sticks were cast, the sticks of the Vātsīputrīya assembly were the most numerous. Because of this multitude, it was renamed the Mahāsāṃghika. “Mahāsāṃghika” means the great assembly. The śramaṇa Shi Faxian traveled to the Western Regions, and at the Heavenly King Vihāra near King Aśoka's stupa in Pāṭaliputra in Magadha, he copied and obtained the Hu text, bringing it back to the capital. In the eleventh month of the twelfth year of the Yixi era of the Jin, the year being in the Shouxing station, together with the Indian Dhyāna Master Buddhabhadra, he translated it at Daochang Temple; it was completed by the end of the second month of the fourteenth year.

Mahīśāsaka-vinaya (in thirty-four fascicles)

“Mahīśāsaka”: those disciples of the Buddha who uphold the twelve divisions of scriptures do not construct marks of earth, water, fire, wind, space, or consciousness. For this reason they are called the Mahīśāsaka school. This is named the Pañcavargika-vinaya. It was obtained in Siṃhala by the bhikṣu Shi Faxian. Faxian's record states: “Faxian originally sought the precepts and vinaya. However, in the various countries of Northern India they were all transmitted orally from master to master, with no written texts to copy. For this reason I traveled far to Central India, and in a Mahāyāna saṅghārāma obtained a copy of the vinaya, which was the Mahāsāṃghika. I also obtained an abridged vinaya text of about seven thousand verses, which was the vinaya of the Sarvāstivāda school, namely that which is practiced by the monks here in the Qin land. I also obtained the Saṃyuktābhidharmahṛdaya of about six thousand verses, a sūtra-string (sūtra) of two thousand five hundred verses, an expansive Nirvāṇa-sūtra of about five thousand verses, and the Mahāsāṃghika Abhidharma. Faxian stayed for three years, learning the Hu script and Hu language, and copied all of them. Thereupon I returned. Reaching Siṃhala, after two years I further sought and obtained the Hu text of the Mahīśāsaka-vinaya.” Faxian returned to the capital in the twelfth year of the Yixi era of the Jin, the year being in the Shouxing station. The various scriptures were mostly translated, but the single work of the Mahīśāsaka had not yet been translated before he died. Reaching the seventh month of the first year of the Jingping era of the Song, the vinaya master Buddhajīva of Kapiśa came to the capital. In the eleventh month of the winter of that year, the Langye Prince of Lian, bhikṣu Shi Huiyan, and Zhu Daosheng invited the foreign śramaṇa Buddhajīva to translate it at Longguang Temple. At that time, Buddhajīva held the Hu text in his hands, and the Khotan śramaṇa Zhisheng translated it; it was entirely completed by the twelfth month of the following year.

Kāśyapīya-vinaya (fascicle count unknown)

“Kāśyapīya”: another pronunciation is Kāśyapīya. Those disciples of the Buddha who uphold the twelve divisions of scriptures explain that there is no self and no experiencer, and they treat the defilements lightly as if they were corpses. For this reason they are named Kāśyapīya. This single vinaya has not reached the land of Liang. Formerly, the late master Xianzhen traveled far to the Western Regions and vowed to search for this text; moved by his supreme resolve, he encountered many divine omens, yet the Pamir Mountains were precipitous and impassable, and he did not succeed in obtaining this scripture. Thus we know that this vinaya has not yet had the karmic conditions to reach the monks of the Liang territory.

The above five divisions: four of the divisions have reached the central lands, totaling one hundred and eighty fascicles. These divisions and fascicles have already been entered into the outermost limits of the scriptural catalog.